Song:Baby, It's Cold Outside
Album:Christmas With Sinatra And Friends
Though not technically a Christmas song, Baby, It's Cold Outside frequently appears on Christmas CDs. I think this recording by Ray Charles and Betty Carter is the definitive version. They recorded it on the 1961 album Ray Charles and Betty Carter. Betty had success in the 50s recording with Ray Bryant. Miles Davis suggested that she go on tour with Charles. She did and he decided to record an album with her. It was released in 1961 on ABC/Paramount. It was more of a jazz album than Charles' other albums. Marty Paich was the arranger and Hank Crawford, David "Fathead" Newman and Mel Lewis were among the musicians who played on the album. They recorded all standards including Baby, It's Cold Outside which did well on the R & B charts. Baby, It's Cold Outside was written by Frank Loesser and he first performed it in Las Vegas with his wife Lynn Garland. He sold it to MGM and they used it in the 1948 Esther Williams film Neptune's Daughter. Among those who charted with the song were Dinah Shore & Buddy Clark, Margaret Whiting & Johnny Mercer and Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan. Hmmm, I'd like to hear that last one. There was even a parody recorded by country comedians Homer & Jethro with June Carter. These days it seems to turn up on a lot of Christmas albums. The album Ray Charles and Betty Carter is available but it's too expensive. Christmas With Sinatra And Friends is available as a budget CD. It mostly has Frank Sinatra Christmas recordings along with songs recorded by Mel Torme, Tony Bennet and Bill Evans, Rosemary Clooney and Ray Charles and Betty Carter. It's on Concord. The song also appears on several Ray Charles comp CDs. But I wanted to suggest a Christmas CD. Here's a video for Baby, It's Cold Outside by Ray Charles and Betty Carter.
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